The Amway Top 25 football coaches poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sept. 27, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th, and previous ranking:

Record Pts Pvs

The Amway Top 25 football coaches poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sept. 27, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th, and previous ranking:<

AP College Football Poll 2014: Official Top 25 Rankings, Week 6 Projections

Sep 29, 2014

There were quite a few close calls, but with just one upset, there weren't many changes in college football's Top 25 rankings on Sunday. The South Carolina Gamecocks were replaced in the rankings by the team that defeated them on Saturday.

The Missouri Tigers pulled off the 21-20 upset over the Gamecocks and rose to 24th in the rankings. The Tigers had just been bounced from the rankings after an upset home loss to the Indiana Hoosiers the week before.

South Carolina fell out of the Top 25 altogether.

After being destroyed at home by the UCLA Bruins, the previously undefeated Arizona State Sun Devils also dropped out of the rankings. The 3-0 TCU Horned Frogs filled the void by landing at the No. 25 spot.

The Horned Frogs will immediately be forced to prove their worth. They take on the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners.

Here's a look at the updated Top 25.

Rank

Team

Record

Points

1

Florida State (27)

4-0

1416

2

Oregon (13)

4-0

1405

3

Alabama (13)

4-0

1387

4

Oklahoma (7)

4-0

1357

5

Auburn

4-0

1272

6

Texas A&M

5-0

1206

7

Baylor

4-0

1149

8

UCLA

4-0

975

9

Notre Dame

4-0

972

10

Michigan State

3-1

944

11

Ole Miss

4-0

906

12

Mississippi State

4-0

848

13

Georgia

3-1

788

14

Stanford

3-1

643

15

LSU

4-1

636

16

USC

3-1

560

17

Wisconsin

3-1

502

18

BYU

4-0

450

19

Nebraska

5-0

445

20

Ohio State

3-1

298

21

Oklahoma State

3-1

246

22

East Carolina

3-1

237

23

Kansas State

3-1

216

24

Missouri

4-1

145

25

TCU

3-0

109

Week 6 will be anything but uneventful. There's a plethora of games that will immediately impact the College Football Playoff scene. All of the following games pit undefeated teams against each other:

Samuel Chi's Mock College Football Playoff Standings: Week 6

Sep 29, 2014

Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today

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While there are 17 teams still unbeaten in FBS, only about a dozen or so realistically remain in the hunt for a spot in the four-team playoff field. The SEC West, with six of its seven teams ranked in the Top 15, takes up almost half of the list of the contenders.

But that does not mean multiple teams from that division will get into the playoff. The possibility does exist, though it's a long shot. The SEC West will begin in earnest its elimination process this weekend as three divisional showdowns take place: Alabama visits Ole Miss, Auburn hosts LSU and Mississippi State welcomes Texas A&M.

None of the other conferences are likely to land more than one team in the playoff field, and they will now go through their own internecine battles. Here's a look at where everyone stands at the end of the "preseason" phase.

The Sooners remain on top of the standings but will now enter the most challenging portion of their schedule, beginning with a visit to unbeaten TCU. OU's solid strength of schedule will keep it in the playoff field as long as it keeps winning. (Projected bowl: Playoff at Sugar Bowl)

2. Auburn

The Tigers will enter the most brutal six-game stretch of 2014 beginning with the LSU game. After that, they'll play five more teams currently ranked in our Top 25, including road games at both Mississippi schools and Georgia. And if they get through all of that unscathed, they still have to visit Tuscaloosa for the Iron Bowl at the end of the regular season. (Projected bowl: Playoff at Rose Bowl)

3. Florida State

A second consecutive narrow escape doesn't affect FSU's place in the playoff, but it might influence its seeding. Because they're the defending national champions, the 'Noles will make the playoff field as long as they win the ACC undefeated, or perhaps even with one loss. (Projected bowl: Playoff at Rose Bowl)

4. Alabama

Even though they're also in the SEC West, the Tide somehow have an easier schedule than most of their divisional foes. They avoid the better teams in the SEC East and have likely their toughest two games (Texas A&M and Auburn) at home. (Projected bowl: Orange Bowl)

First Four Out

5. Oregon

Don't let the heading fool you: The Ducks are in the playoff field if they win out, no ifs ands or buts. Even with one loss, Oregon likely will have a shot to get into the playoff as long as it wins the conference title. The Ducks host Stanford this year, which will help their chances. (Projected bowl: Playoff at Sugar Bowl)

6. Texas A&M

The Aggies can still play their way into the playoff field, thanks to last week's overtime escape against Arkansas. But for them, it's likely one (loss) and done because of their atrocious nonconference schedule. (Projected bowl: Cotton Bowl)

7. UCLA

The Bruins did themselves a huge favor with an emphatic win at Arizona State last Thursday. That was enough to wipe away a rather unimpressive nonconference portion of the season in which they barely beat three middling teams in Virginia, Memphis and Texas. But things are just getting started for UCLA, as it must navigate perhaps the top-ranked schedule in FBS this year. (Projected bowl: Fiesta Bowl)

8. Ole Miss

The Rebels might not be in this spot for long after getting by September against subpar competition, struggling against Memphis for three quarters in their last game. The upcoming game against visiting Alabama arguably will be the most important in program history in at least a quarter century, or more. (Projected bowl: Non-CFP bowl)

October 1, 20142:22 pm

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Oregon is looking great: leading Heisman candidate and an excellent "quiet genius" as a coach in Mark Helfrich.

Oct 2, 2014

Though much of September played out like college football's version of the preseason, it still served to whittle down the field of potential playoff teams. Only 17 of the 128 FBS teams made it out of the month without a loss and that number is guaranteed to dwindle by a quarter in the first weekend of October.

All 17 unbeatens will be in action this weekend, including four matchups between undefeated teams, beginning with Thursday night's Oregon-Arizona showdown. There are six games between teams currently ranked in the AP poll—that's as many as the previous four weekends combined.

The center of the college football universe this Saturday will be the state of Mississippi (when's the last time you heard this phrase uttered?...like, never?), where the SEC West shakeup will begin in earnest. The four combatants in the games in Oxford and Starkville have a combined record of 17-0, but two teams will emerge with their first losses of the season by sundown Saturday.

So here's our look—and predictions—of this week's five key games for the College Football Playoff race. OK, so we lied, we counted the SEC West Six-Pack as one game:

The toughest division in college football will see all six of its ranked teams cannibalize each other. And with the exception of LSU, which already lost to Mississippi State, the losers on Saturday won't necessarily be out of the running for the division title, and hence, the College Football Playoff field.

But the most intriguing game of the trio just might be the one not played in Mississippi. The battle of the Tigers has gone LSU's way in six of the last seven years, with Auburn only winning in 2010, when it went undefeated and won the BCS title. Keep in mind that was the only time Gus Malzahn faced LSU on The Plains as a member of the Auburn staff.

Predicted winners: Mississippi State, Alabama, Auburn

Oklahoma (4-0) at TCU (3-0)

It should surprise no one that Gary Patterson has righted the ship at TCU after a rough start in its first two years in the Big 12. But the Horned Frogs' rebuilt defense will be severely tested by Oklahoma, which has its sights set on winning the Big 12 and earning an entry to the playoff field.

Because there is no conference championship game, OU can ill afford to lose any games as it could potentially mean the loss of the Big 12 title. But the visit to Fort Worth just might be the toughest remaining road game for the Sooners, who will get all the other Big 12 contenders at home.

Predicted winner: Oklahoma

Stanford (3-1) at Notre Dame (4-0)

In Notre Dame's magical season of 2012, it was able to beat Stanford in OT thanks to a controversial call. (Is it me or does it seem like all of Notre Dame's close shaves in 2012 were aided by the refs?) That loss might very well have kept the Cardinal out of the BCS title game.

The scenario is very similar this season. Everett Golson is back and with him the Irish are once again in the mix for the national championship run. For Stanford, already with an early-season loss to USC, this is a must-win game to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Predicted winner: Notre Dame

Nebraska (5-0) at Michigan State (3-1)

This is essentially an elimination game for the Big Ten's flickering playoff hopes. A loss by either team will end its chance of landing a spot in the four-team field.

The Huskers are the only B1G team coming out of September without a loss, and that's only the case because of an AmeerAbdullah miracle run to beat McNeese State. With Nebraska's weak schedule, it'll have to run the table to make any claims for the playoff, and even that might not be enough.

Predicted winner: Michigan State

Utah (3-1) at UCLA (4-0)

This game would've been another battle of the unbeatens until Utah was stunned by Washington State at home, blowing a 24-7 halftime lead. Still, it's a major showdown in the Pac-12 South, which currently seems to be UCLA's for the taking.

But the Bruins have shown a maddening inconsistency in the Jim Mora era so don't be surprised if they suffer a letdown after last week's big win over Arizona State. On top of that UCLA might also be caught looking ahead to a huge showdown next week against Oregon. This is a classic trap game.

Predicted winner: Utah

October 3, 20143:37 pm

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Biletnikoff Award voter Stewart Mandel: What Oregon's loss on October 2 to Arizona says about the Ducks and the Pac12.

Ducks have a porous O-line and a poor defense. Arizona, UCLA and Stanford appear to be the conference's best teams. The Pac12 may not have a playoff team; Oregon looks to have another loss.

October 4, 20141:16 pm

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The rapid, inexorable decline of college football in the Big Ten: only 2 national championships in 42 years-- the one in 2002 due to the worst official call (the late flag re alleged pass interference on Miami) in national championship game history.

Demographic changes are killing its recruiting bases: slow population growth (only growth from 2000 to 2010 was due to Hispanic in-migration--primarily illegals who do not play much football) aging population, and blacks moving to Sunbelt.

USA TODAY Sports is keeping careful tabs on how each week's wins and losses impact the eventual makeup of the inaugural College Football Playoff. If the season ended today, here are three teams moving into the championship picture and three moving out.

Teams that played their way in:

Oregon. It only took one game for Oregon to reassert itself in the Playoff conversation. The Ducks were left behind after last week's loss to Arizona, the team's first loss of the season. Well, they're back: Oregon outplayed UCLA far more than the 42-30 final score might suggest, harassing Brett Hundley and picking apart the Bruins' defense in a convincing road win. The victory echoes across the Pac-12 — signaling that Oregon remains the conference favorite — and brings quarterback Marcus Mariota leaping back into the Heisman Trophy race. For both the Ducks and Mariota, a key date with Stanford looms ahead.

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USATODAY

How the top 25 teams fared in Week 7

Baylor. It was never in doubt. Well, maybe. TCU did lead by 21 points with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter. But it was still never in doubt. It was 58-44, then 58-51, then 58-58, then finally 61-58, courtesy of a 28-yard field goal as time expired. By overcoming the Horned Frogs' fourth-quarter lead, Baylor retained its place among the nation's top six and remained very much in the thick of the Playoff hunt. At the same time, TCU's narrow loss — avoidable, probably — doesn't send it tumbling too far out of the conversation.

Notre Dame. Speaking of never-in-doubt victories: Notre Dame played around with North Carolina before pulling away late, scoring 14 quick points to open the fourth quarter of a 50-43 win. There are issues to address, including the Irish's continued bouts with turnovers and up-and-down defense, but let's keep a crucial fact in mind: As other contenders fall by the wayside, Notre Dame remains undefeated. That might not last, seeing that the Irish head to Florida State next weekend, but Saturday's win — no matter how ugly — keeps Notre Dame in the thick of things.

Teams that played their way out:

Auburn. We've seen one-loss teams quickly work their way back into the Playoff mix — as with Oregon, as noted. Auburn's loss to Mississippi State stings for the impact it will have on the Southeastern Conference West Division race, where head-to-head tiebreakers may end up deciding the final standings. It's far from over, but the Tigers have ground to cover before moving to back to the top of the division. To get there, Auburn needs to find answers in short-yardage situations, a bit of an issue for Gus Malzahn's offense throughout the season.

Mississippi State did most of the celebrating Saturday during its game vs. Auburn.(Photo: John David Mercer, USA TODAY Sports)

Texas A&M. It may be this simple: Texas A&M isn't a great football team. A good football team, perhaps, as most expected heading into the regular season — perhaps an eight-win team, should a young defense and unproven quarterback produce ahead of schedule. But that 5-0 start seems a little less impressive after South Carolina's nosedive out of SEC contention, for example, and let's remember the Aggies' nonconference wins came against Lamar, Rice and SMU. This team hit a wall against Mississippi: A&M never had a shot, drifting to its second loss of the season and well outside the list of Playoff contenders.

Georgia Tech. Yeah, it was a long shot anyway. But Saturday's loss to Duke ends Georgia Tech's slim-but-mathematically-possible odds of finishing undefeated in the unpredictable ACC Coastal Division — an achievement that would land a date with Florida State in the conference title game. Winning the division remains a possibility, but let's write the Yellow Jackets out of the Playoff race.

With four more unbeaten teams losing for the first time and several matchups between highly-rated opponents during Week 7, there was plenty of shuffling that resulted near the top of the rankings. And with another big-time clash between Florida State and Notre Dame on the docket for this coming weekend, shifting is expected once again.

College Football Playoff Rankings: Biggest Takeaways from Week 8

Oct 19, 2014

Florida State and Notre Dame played an epic midseason classic with the defending national champion barely squeezing out a victory as a costly penalty decided things late. But while the Seminoles' 31-27 win kept alive their hopes of making the playoff field, the Irish are far from dead even with the blemish of a loss.

Notre Dame's loss, along with Baylor's earlier in the day, left just three power-five conference teams undefeated. And since Ole Miss and Mississippi State must face each other in the Egg Bowl at the end of the regular season, that means at least half of the playoff field will be filled with teams with one loss or more.

This reality puts every one of the power-five conferences—as well as Notre Dame—in play for the playoff. As we noted earlier in the week, don't be surprised to see a two-loss team (or two) in the inaugural football final four.

Unbeaten, 1-Loss and 2-Loss Teams

Conference

Unbeaten

1-Loss

2-Loss

ACC

Florida State

1

3

Big Ten

0

4

5

Big 12

0

3

3

Pac-12

0

4

4

SEC

Ole Miss, Miss State

3

3

Marshall (Conference USA) is also unbeaten

Teams That Moved Up

SEC West

By Sunday, four of the Top Five teams in the AP Poll will be from this division. Even though both Mississippi State and Auburn were idle this week, losses by Baylor and Notre Dame will bunch these teams near the top of the rankings along with Florida State. It seems inevitable that one of those four teams (Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss and Mississippi State) will end up in the playoff. The only question is whether two of them will.

Pac-12

Ryan Kang/Associated Press

The upset morning in the Big 12 probably benefited the Pac-12 the most. Losses by Baylor and Oklahoma left the Big 12 with no clear front-runner, and Oregon's recovery from its lone loss to Arizona should put it back on track for a playoff berth. The Pac-12 South is also very much in the mix, and what's making the difference right now are two Hail Mary passes—ASU's against USC and Arizona's against Cal. The winner of the Territorial Cup can play its way into the playoff field if it wins out, including the Pac-12 title game.

Georgia

While the battle of attrition goes on in the SEC West, the Bulldogs continue to cruise in the junior circuit that is the SEC East, even without the services of running back Todd Gurley. Should Georgia be able to handle Auburn and then end up winning the conference, it will force its way into the four-team playoff.

Kansas State

If it weren't for their own self-destruction against Auburn at home, the Wildcats would be looking at a Top Five ranking right now. As it is, they should be the highest-ranked Big 12 team in the next poll and control their own destiny in the conference race. If they run the table, it's hard to see the Wildcats not in the playoff field.

Michigan State/Ohio State

Both teams won by the identically dominant scores of 56-17 Saturday and will meet in two weeks in East Lansing, Michigan, to decide the winner of the Big Ten East. The winner of that game likely will end up winning the conference title with a 12-1 record. But the B1G champ might still need a little help from other conference winners and/or Notre Dame.

Teams That Moved Down

Does Notre Dame still have a chance to make playoff?

YesNoSubmit Votevote to see results

Does Notre Dame still have a chance to make playoff?

Yes

58.2%

No

41.8%

Total votes: 2,909

Notre Dame

The Irish will drop in the polls, but not much. And due to how closely contested Saturday night's game was, Notre Dame is still in the playoff mix, but now it needs a bit of help. It still has high-profile games against a pair of Pac-12 teams (USC and Arizona State) to impress the selection committee. The loss to FSU just means the Irish will have to do a bit more scoreboard watching.

Big 12

Losses by Baylor and Oklahoma changed the conference's standing in the polls, as its leading team likely will be trailing the top teams in the other four power-five conferences. Because the Big 12 is the only FBS conference that plays a true round-robin, chances are that no dominant team will emerge, thus making the Big 12 the conference left out of the four-team playoff field.

Group-of-Five Team in the Best Position

East Carolina was idle this week but maintained its position as the leading team for the Group-of-Five berth. The Pirates' primary challengers remain Colorado State and Marshall. The Rams beat Utah State on a last-second field goal, while Marshall is just one of four unbeaten teams in the FBS. Boise State and UCF are two other teams still with an outside chance to steal this bid.

bigten_numberone said Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com weighs in on October 19http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/dennis-dodd/24759015/power-poll-does-alabama-have-best-shot-at-one-loss-playoff-spot

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Four days before the College Football Playoff's selection committee pulls back its curtain and unveils its first ranking, the Oregon Ducks presented a convincing case as the Pac-12's best team under Friday night's lights here.Quickly, the points added up in a 59-41 victory against Cal. In a two-hour first half, the Bears and Ducks combined for 66 of them.

But after a night with peerless offense and murky defense, a question remains: When the committee's final four is announced Dec. 7, where will Oregon stack up?

With a third resounding victory in as many weeks the Ducks (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) have positioned themselves as the class of their conference by rolling up more than 500 yards on the not-so-Golden Bears (4-4, 2-4), losers of three straight. It was only three weeks ago that Cal was atop the Pac-12's North division, the beneficiaries of conference chaos.

Buoyed by better health and quarterback Marcus Mariota's unrelenting assault on the record books — he broke Bill Musgrave's all-time passing yardage record at Oregon on a 22-yard first-quarter touchdown to Dwayne Stanford — the Ducks have retaken the mantle so many expected in the preseason. A return trip to Levi's Stadium, Friday's venue, for the Pac-12 championship game looks increasingly likely.

"Marcus is such a stud and it's great that he has another year and a half left," head coach Mark Helfrich said, drawing laughs from reporters. He followed in mock disbelief: "What?"

The Ducks improved to 62-2 since 2009 when scoring more than 30 points, and 18-0 under Helfrich after scoring on five of their first six drives and withstanding a wild end of the first half that put a lump in Ducks fans' throats.

After Mariota threw his first interception in 253 attempts with 1:56 remaining in the second quarter — safety Stefan McClure picked it in the end zone after two teammates batted it away — the Ducks dodged a bullet by forcing a suddenly empowered Bears team to punt up 31-28. But then UO's Ayele Forde was pushed into touching the punt, which gave the ball back to Cal 40 yards from an end zone and taking the lead.

That is, before a rule review handed the ball back to Oregon.

It was the beginning of the end for Cal.

******But it remains to be seen what three victories against opponents that appear more exposed by the week mean in the grand scheme. And also, whether an Oregon defensive performance that allowed nearly 600 yards to a young Cal squad was the exception to its recent run of encouraging performances or a regression to the mean.

******

It tightened in the second half, allowing just a touchdown, and forced key stops on fourth down and by a fumble, yet its first-half performance might give some — maybe the 12 selection committee members? — pause when answering where Oregon belongs amid the nation's heavyweights if it has to win by shootout more often than not.

Here's the thing: That final answer isn't due for another six weeks.

"That's a really good football team," said Helfrich, acknowledging that just winning isn't enough with Oregon — winning with style is expected. "To win on the road, short week, a bunch of guys gutting it out, you know, you can't just look at numbers and say, these guys stink."

There's plenty of time for the four SEC teams ahead of Oregon to cannibalize themselves. And lots of time to wonder whether being the best in a Pac-12 with few true contenders will be enough to be considered among the best in the country.

NCFAA

The Biletnikoff Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s official website, www.ncfaa.org.